One Piece: Will Shanks Die? Here’s What Is Known!

We at Fiction Horizon have already established that Shanks is one of the best characters from Oda’s One Piece series. The red-haired pirate is an epic badass and one of the most beloved characters in the whole series. Shanks is loved by many One Piece fans, if not all, and that is why his fate in the series is a very hot topic among the fandom. And while Shanks is still alive and well in the series, many fans keep speculating whether he will die in One Piece or not, and in this article, we will analyze the possibilities.

At this moment, it is unknown whether Shanks will die in One Piece or not. Oda is known for being a rather unpredictable author. It is difficult to talk about these things when he is concerned, as any prediction is basically impossible to make. We’re quite certain, though, that Oda would only kill off Shanks if it was absolutely necessary and if he had a really good story related to his death.

The rest of this article is going to focus on Shanks and his future in the world of One Piece. Namely, the question of Shanks’ future in the series is intriguing, and we will discuss the possibilities in this article. If you don’t know the whole story of One Piece, we have to warn you that there are going to be spoilers in the following paragraphs.

Will Shanks die in One Piece?

Shanks’s role and story in One Piece are very intriguing. He is undoubtedly one of the most powerful characters in the whole series, but he is also a very big enigma. Despite all of this, Shanks’ true abilities remain unknown, as he has yet to be seen seriously engaged in battle. However, as a member of the Four Emperors of the New World, his raw physical power is believed to be immense, and he is known to be one of the four most powerful pirates in the world. Shanks did not fear Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, and even had enough strength to oppose him.

When Shanks offered Blackbeard a fight, the latter declined and decided to leave, as it was too early for him and his crew to fight Shanks. Furthermore, when Shanks demanded that the dignity of Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace not be violated following their deaths, Sengoku himself also decided to end the war and took responsibility for it

Shanks is usually depicted with a sword. Although its use was only briefly displayed, the fact that it was able to match a Whitebeard strike with one arm is a clear indication of the strength of its attacks. Shanks is also strong enough to stop Akainu’s Magma Fist using his sword and Armaments Haki.

Mihawk is ranked as the greatest swordsman in the world, and Shanks is an old rival of the latter, which speaks more than enough about Shanks’ true powers and abilities. Shanks seems to have favored using his left arm before losing it, as he is still seen holding his sword with his left hand during flashbacks. He is presumed to have been left-handed.

From this perspective, we see just how powerful Shanks is and how relevant his role is, and from this perspective, it doesn’t seem likely that he will die. Namely, with Roger and Whitebeard dead, the only two characters who could potentially be stronger than Shanks are Blackbeard and Luffy. The first one keeps avoiding Shanks every way he can, while the other is his loyal friend, and the prospect of them fighting is practically minimal. From that perspective, it doesn’t seem realistic that Shanks will die while fighting someone stronger than him, as there aren’t too many candidates for that position, but this doesn’t fully guarantee Shanks’ survival in the series.

The main issue here is that Eiichiro Oda is a very unpredictable author. Sure, not many One Piece characters – at least not those that are important – have died, but we’ve seen both Whitebeard and Ace, probably the two most notable examples, die over the course of the plot of One Piece. In that aspect, Oda might find a reason for killing Shanks.

It could be a decisive battle against Blackbeard or the Marines combined (but that would mimic Ace’s death too much, so we’re not really certain about it), where Shanks would either die as the result of tragic circumstances or while protecting Luffy. This wouldn’t be his happy fate, but it could work from a narrative point of view.

Another possibility could be that Shanks indeed has to fight Luffy, i.e., that Shanks stands in the way of Luffy becoming the Pirate King. This would be a truly heartbreaking possibility and doesn’t seem plausible, but it also comes to mind when discussing Shanks’ potential death in the series. Of course, there is also the possibility that Oda will simply come up with something completely unexpected, which would be normal for him and would be quite expected because the thing with Oda is – always expect the unexpected.

These are just some of the possible theories surrounding Shanks’ death in the series, but in all honesty, we don’t think that Shanks’ death is likely. He is a very important character, and his story is tied to Luffy’s in such a deep way that losing Shanks, like he lost Ace at one point, would be somewhat of an overkill. Plus, there is absolutely nothing that might indicate that Shanks could be killed off in the story or die of natural causes.

Shanks is not one of the protagonists of One Piece. Still, he is an exceptionally important character and a character that is quite closely tied to Luffy in a very emotional way, which is why, ultimately, we don’t think that Oda is going to simply kill him off. But no, we do not know anything for certain at this moment.